Dancing in Shadows
by AlexisBlade
Summary: In a landscape of gray within the Force how will one who is neither Jedi nor Sith ripple through the fabric of old beliefs to raze an Empire yet inspire hope to those forgotten?


_**Okay this is me branching into a whole new realm. Inspired by Gemini1179 by the fact there are so few femRevan/Bastila fics we both unknowingly began to create our own! Should he decide to continue his SO READ IT! **_

_**For now check this one out and let me know if you'd like to find out more about Ashkaar Veiness...**_

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><p>She had become used to the dreams. Awaited them even. Flashes of the past. Of a life supposed to have been erased. A life that was returning to her piece by piece. Yes some of the memories were horrible, gut wrenching, had her wake dripping in sweat and screaming. But it was necessary. She never shied away for that was not in her nature. Always she had taken the hardest path, the longest routes, the most challenging obstacles for they all made her stronger and wiser.<p>

She sifted through her memories constantly trying to determine which were hers and which belonged to the scout Ashkaar Veiness, the identity the Jedi Council had attempted to program her with. According to the Jedi she was part Nagai, part Zeltron, a very interesting and potent mix. She certainly looked the part so could understand their assumption.

They were, however, inaccurate. She was the product of an Arkanian lab and even she did not fully comprehend what she was. She did indeed have the features of a Nagai that were delicately softened by the seductive curves of the Zeltron. She had the delicate pointed ears that were just about elfin in size rather than the normal Nagai shape, the speed, the cunning and the fierce code of honour few really understood that were associated with the Nagai.

Then there was the subtle pink skin tone, her blue/black hair, the agility, the way everyone who met her instantly gravitated towards her due to the seductive pheromones that permeated the air around her, the telepathy... all of which were associated with the Zeltron's.

It was in fact her Zeltron nature that caused her to struggle so much with the strict regime of the Jedi. No emotion? Bantha poodoo! Zeltron's _were_ emotional beings. She was a passionate woman who thrived on positive emotions, but due to her engineered biology the lusty drive for passion was muted enough she could function with a clear mind and the high intelligence the Arkanian's had imbued her with. She could also pretend to play the Jedi game of the emotionless though that's all it was... a mask.

While she couldn't fathom what her purpose was for the Arkanian's she knew quite well that they'd maximized on the Zeltron's seductive capabilities and the Nagai's instinctive fighting abilities for a darker purpose. The ability to utterly seduce a target, to keep everyone around her off guard, not expecting that lethal strike from the gorgeous and friendly angel who was everyone's friend. This ability to put others at ease was instinctive, not something she had conscious control over chemically speaking as her pheromones did their own thing, it wasn't something that could be taught by the Jedi Masters but boy oh boy was it discouraged.

The dream she was currently living within was of her final moments on her flag ship, that last confrontation with Bastila before Malak turned on her. That stupid fool! He had ruined everything!

Revan was thrown from her bed and ripped out of the dream as the Endar Spire rocked from impact that wasn't limited to her dreams. Immediately the panic and pain from the crew of the ship hit her mind. Groaning she put her hands to her head and concentrated, shielding her mind from the world around her enough that she could function properly.

That was how Trask found the new recruit, naked and tangled up in her bed sheet. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped at the sight of the goddess in all her glory, her long blue/black hair loose and cascading over her face, shoulders and in complete disarray.

Revan took a deep breath and got up quickly, ignoring the staring human male who was so distracted by her looks he'd almost forgotten what was going on.

Until the ship rocked again.

Trask shook his head and turned to give her a moment of privacy as she dressed, "Uh, sorry 'bout that."

Revan just smirked, "Don't worry about it, kinda getting the hurry up vibe. How long have we been under attack?" Her smooth, sultry voice purred.

"Eight minutes. You must be a real deep sleeper miss, it's uh, Ashkaar right?" Trask rubbed his neck, keeping a look out behind him to make sure no Sith snuck up on them.

"Yes, you are?" Revan sealed the light armour and flexed to make sure everything was in order. While the Jedi hadn't worn anything other than their traditional robes Ashkaar was a scout and therefore had been programmed with a set of skills Revan had never learned. She was hoping that as her mind pieced itself back together she'd retain these skills. The memories didn't bother her truthfully, in fact they were almost peaceful compared to the flashes of wars and Outer Rim that were fighting to be remembered.

"Trask Ulgo. We work opposite shifts, I was sent to get you to Bastila ASAP." He rubbed his neck anxiously, the thought of facing Dark Jedi was terrifying to say the least.

"Ah, of course, can't have anything happen to our resident Jedi princess and saviour of the Republic," Revan drawled with a deep sense of irony. The same had been said of her not four years ago.

Trask didn't have time to think about her tone when the doors opened and a trio of Sith soldiers barrelled towards them. He dove into the room to take cover.

Revan had the choice of a blaster, which she'd been programmed to use quite effectively, or a short vibrosword. Stingy Jedi Council bastards, it wasn't even a _decent_ sword! Taking a moment to glance at the blaster she shuddered, what a barbaric weapon. Clipping it to her belt she drew her sword and ran to the opposite side of the door Trask was taking cover behind.

Trask frowned at the sword in her hand, "Really?"

Revan smirked, "Watch and learn Republic." She winked then dashed out into the blaster rifle fire, zipping down the short hall so fast the Sith couldn't track her properly. Instead of just running through the door she dove, sliding on her knees under a right hook that would have clocked her hard on the chin if she'd been upright. Shooting up to her feet again she sliced out at the closest assailant, her vibrosword cutting deeply from navel to throat with her Force enhanced strength. She might not be able to overtly use the Force or she'd blow her cover but there were certain things she could certainly still accomplish using the Force.

Before the soldier had even crumpled to his knees Revan had spun away. Her blade sliced through the air and severed a head to her left then an arm to her right as the final soldier had dumped his cumbersome rifle for close quarter combat. He didn't scream for long as Revan thrust her sword through his chest while he was distracted by the stump of his arm that was gushing blood. Revan grimaced, lightsabers cauterized the wounds instantly meaning no blood, not like simple vibroswords.

Trask stuck his head through door, brows high in surprise, "Wow, I blinked and missed it I think."

Revan chuckled, she was doing a quick loot of the bodies as she knew that once they hit dirt they were going to need every advantage they could get. She rose when she was done and nodded to Trask, "Come on, let's go get Shannie, wouldn't want her to break a nail or anything, we'd never hear the end of it."

Trask shook his head at her irreverence but couldn't stop the small smirk and followed after her quickly, time was of the essence.

Fighting their way through a ship under assault was quite daunting, for Trask at least. The rocking of the ship from impacts of the Sith armada surrounding them, the smoke that was working through the whole ship from fires caused by explosions and grenades and blaster shots that was filling their senses and clogging their lungs, the cries of people dying ripping through their ears, the pounding of running boots almost matching the fast paced beats of their hearts... well Trask's anyway.

Revan was another matter however. Battle she had seen in many, many forms. This was actually fairly tame compared to some of the skirmishes she'd been in. Granted she couldn't remember many right now but her gut and instincts told her it was so. What she was struggling with, however, was her telepathy. Telepathy was a blessing and a curse, thankfully it was something she'd learned a great deal of control over as a Jedi but with all the screwing up of her mind she wasn't able to focus properly. Being able to _feel_ the pain and anguish of the beings around her was taking its toll on her, in a big way. It was hard to think through the emotional tsunami that was beating against her, she was reacting on basic instincts instead of tactical thoughts.

Trask concentrated on keeping up with the Zeltron and engaging any sith who tried to attack her at long range while she leapt in for close quarter combat. If he'd been able he would have loved to just watch her, her grace in battle was nothing short of breathtaking, the way she moved was a continuous flow of motion sweeping through anything that got in her path without pause, no hesitation, no jerky movements.

They came upon their first Dark Jedi fighting a tall, regal looking Jedi who was all calm and poise as she deflected his attacks and pushed him back.

Revan's eyes narrowed as a name came to mind. Taylia. A Jedi Knight from Dantooine, guardian as evidenced by her blue lightsaber. She had stayed behind when Revan took so many to war and had taken great pleasure in watching what the Master's had tried to do with her mind. Oh the Jedi liked to _pretend _they were in control of their emotions, that they felt _no_ emotion, but they were a bunch of lying fools. They could pull off that crap with the rest of the galaxy but a telepathic Zeltron _wired_ to feel the emotions of others? Nu-uh, no way, no how could they fool her.

Right now Revan and Trask just watched the duel. Revan had no intention of interfering or helping the bitch so just stood there glaring, waiting, almost hoping the Dark Jedi would win... almost but not quite, she didn't want to see Taylia dead, she had some things she wanted to prove to the human woman.

In a beautifully delivered blow the Dark Jedi's defence crumpled and the blue lightsaber thrust through his chest.

Taylia turned to the pair she'd felt arrive and frowned slightly at the sight of the former Sith Lord, "I see you still survive."

Revan smirked, "Aw is that disappointment I feel? I'm cut to the heart I really am." She put her fist to her chest a touch melodramatically.

Taylia was about to shoot back a retort when the panel beside her suddenly exploded and her world went dark.

Revan rushed forward, smirk gone in an instant, but there was nothing she could do. Shrapnel had torn through Taylia's chest, killing her before she'd hit the ground. She may not have liked the pompous woman but she'd never wanted her dead.

"Damn, we could've used her help." Trask shook his head in dismay.

"Come on, bridge is ahead." Revan could feel that Bastila wasn't there though. What she _did_ feel was a slight tingling in her heart at the thought of Bastila, surprisingly she couldn't identify it.

The strange duo reached the bridge just in time to see it explode. A cascade of overloading energy ripped through the entire front section in a fiery display that killed everything in its path, Republic crew, Sith invaders the lot of them were burned, fried and ripped to shreds.

Revan cried out in pain, clutching her head and sinking to her knees at the sudden and overwhelming telepathic overload that blinded her mind and slashed into her heart.

Trask had no idea what was wrong with her but surged forward just in time to deflect a sword that had been angling towards her neck. There were two Sith soldiers left alive who'd been standing by the doors and unaffected by the explosion. Both of whom were now intent on the moaning and incapacitated woman on her knees. Trask grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back out of the way, his right arm ringing with the impact of the clashing of vibroswords. He wouldn't be able to hold off both for long and hoped desperately that Ashkaar would snap out of whatever was going on in her.

Revan felt his desperation and feeling too weak kneed to get up and assault one of the soldiers she drew her blaster and opened fire from the ground where she'd fallen from Trask's shove.

Relieved when both soldiers fell Trask turned back to Ashkaar who was pale and trembling, "What's wrong?" He asked quickly, kneeling down beside her looking for an injury of some sort but seeing nothing.

"I'm Zeltron, telepathic. The... the explosion killing so many people at once. I'm sorry I..." She swallowed, mentally berating herself, how had she handled this during the war? She'd seen death on such a large scale that a mere twenty or so falling like that shouldn't have affected her like this.

Trask's eyes widened, he'd never met a Zeltron before and while he'd been curious about her soft pink skin tone he hadn't realized just how different she really was. "Is there anything I can do to help? We've gotta get off this ship ASAP."

Revan looked up at him, he was easy on the eye for a human male. If she'd had time she'd meditate but they had no time, "Kiss me."

"Huh?" Trask wasn't sure he'd heard her right. That was until she grabbed him by the front of his uniform and pulled him down to her. It was a shock to his system feeling those soft, full lips hungrily demanding his full attention and after a moment he obliged with a moan.

Revan hummed as her assaulted mind calmed, the passion of lust soothing away the pain until her mind was clearer again, the haze of passion she could handle for now. Pulling back from him and firmly pushing him back a fraction she nodded, "Thank you," she gasped.

Trask cleared his throat and stood, holding out his hand to help her up, "Welcome," he mumbled, flushed and a little embarrassed but damn was she so incredibly sexy and that kiss not only blew his mind but had left him a little dizzy.

Revan accepted his hand and got to her feet quickly, "Bastila wasn't here, she'd probably be heading to the pods then."

"Which means if she gets off the ship the Sith'll just blow it." Trask nodded, trying to get his mind back on track after that amazing kiss.

"Lead the way Trask." Revan grinned, knowing the man would start being even more distracted by her physique now.

Trask nodded and turned, quickly jogging through to the other exit on the bridge that would lead them to the escape pods with Ashkaar silently following him. It was almost disconcerting that she barely made a sound when she moved.

They didn't get far before Revan winced at the dark malevolence indicating a powerful Dark Jedi was approaching. She cursed herself, she cursed Alek. Why hadn't she seen it? Why hadn't she felt him fall until it was too late? She couldn't remember what had happened exactly but she remembered finding a dark place in the force that had given them the ships and power they needed to fight the Mandalorians and prepare for something worse. She had left him in charge and continued the campaign to make ready the Republic. It was after that, leaving him there, that he'd succumbed and taken so many with him. His tactics were crude and used brute force but they were effective in cowing those around him.

"Dark Jedi, you get to the pods I'll hold him off!" Trask suddenly yelled over his shoulder.

Before Revan could respond and tell him to leave the bastard to her Trask, who was ahead of her, ran through the doors and sealed them behind him. "Trask!" She rushed to the doors but his security clearance meant that right now she had no way to get through them in time to save him from the Dark Jedi. "Damnit," she hissed and punched the door, while it would be satisfying to tear that arrogant bastard to shreds there wasn't time. Taking a step back from the door she bowed her head and made the gesture of honoured sacrifice for Trask, a Nagai custom, and hurried on.

From the escape pod bay Carth Onassi grimaced as another life sign indicator winked out. There was only one Republic biosign left on board other than his and he refused to leave anyone behind. Not much of the security system was left operational with all the explosions and damage that was ravaging the ship but he was able catch a glimpse of that owner of that last biosign. He frowned, it was the female scout attached to the Jedi party. What was her name? Oh well it shouldn't be hard to look up on the crew manifest.

Revan sprinted now that she didn't have to wait for Trask. Cutting her way through a few more Sith soldiers she was brought to a halt as a male voice suddenly burst to life on her comms.

"Whoa slow down there! You've got a bunch of Sith through those doors, you're gonna need to create a distraction."

Revan frowned, "Who is this?"

"I'm Carth Onassi, listen you're the last Republic asset aboard, the pods are just passed the patrol but I sealed the door to keep them out. Take them down and I'll let you in and we can get off this ship." His explanation was rushed as they really didn't have much time left.

"Sounds good to me." Revan looked around for something she could use as a distraction, ordinarily she would have just used the Force but she was just a 'scout' according to everyone. So what would Ashkaar do? Spying a console she jogged over to it and spent a few moments recalling how to splice into the security hub.

Carth nodded to himself in approval as in the other room something overloaded and screams indicated the end of a bad day for some blasted Sith. He watched through the feed as the woman surged into the room taking advantage of the distraction to dispatch the two soldiers who had managed to avoid the explosion. She was damn fast and lethal with her swords, she would be useful on the planet below. He'd downloaded her files as now wasn't the time to read over them and unlocked the door.

Revan looted the bodies quickly finding a very nice prototype vibroblade that was clearly a cut above the rest, in every sense of the term.

"Come on, time to go!" Carth was prepping the last pod.

Revan joined him, not about to argue as the ship began to rock in a manner that had the sound of metal screeching ringing in her ears and telling her they were about to get spaced. Grabbing Carth by the shoulder she shoved him into the pod and slammed her fist into the internal eject control.

The pod shot out of the ship and was pounded moments later by shockwaves from the complete destruction of the _Endar Spire_.

Carth grumbled in annoyance at being thrown so unceremoniously to the floor but wasted no time lingering there. Quickly he got up and belted himself in.

Revan lost her balance as the pod was thrown by the explosion. She cursed as her head struck one of the seat harnesses hard and warmth was immediately trickling down her face. Realizing that their course for planetfall would have been totally screwed over she found her feet again and dashed to the controls.

"Hey you need to belt yourself in!" Carth snapped at her.

"Not if you want to _land_ rather than become a crater." She shot back at him in annoyance. Bringing up their trajectory she cursed again and quickly began trying to adjust their course while there was still time, once they hit atmo it would be all over. Her fingers flew across the console but that wasn't all she did, she used the Force to alter their course just enough that they weren't going to nose dive through the atmosphere.

It wasn't fast enough.

Revan grunted as she was thrown from her feet by a violent shudder as the pod hit the atmosphere. Her world went black as her head slammed back into the floor at Carth's feet with a sickening thud.

Carth swore and did the only thing he could think of. Reaching out with his feet he managed to drag her body against the base of the seating and pinned her there with his legs.

Landing was brutal. All Carth would remember of it was the ear-splitting sound of metal shearing, the bone crunching force of slamming into something, the sick gut wrenching as the pod spun from impact, the darkness as all systems went down. Then nothing but the beating of his heart roaring in his ears.

It took Carth a few minutes before he could move. His body was aching all over and the hammer in his head was relentless. Undoing his harness he discovered that the scout was miraculously still behind his feet. He'd have to assess her injuries elsewhere, Taris was a Sith controlled world and patrols would already be heading their way. Fumbling around he managed to grab an emergency kit before picking up the slender and light young woman who was out cold but still breathing. His heart was racing and he struggled getting out of the pod. There was no way for him to know what kind of injuries the scout had received, other than a massive head injury, so he tried to be as careful as possible.

Getting out of the ruined pod Carth discovered they had come to a halt at the edge of a platform on Upper Taris. So literally on the edge the pod was starting to teeter now that it's occupants had disturbed the balance. Thankfully it was dark out so there were very few people around but they were coming closer and he couldn't risk identification. He took to the first cover available, a building to his left that turned out to be an apartment complex. A really old and rundown apartment complex by the looks of it.

Lights flickered in an annoying fashion that hurt Carth's eyes but right now it was inconsequential. A place to hide was priority, he couldn't keep carrying the woman around like this and she needed medical attention.

It took him a little while but he managed to find an abandoned apartment. It was filthy but he had no other options right now. Laying the scout down on the bed gently and being very careful of her head he rummaged through the emergency kit for a kolto stim. Finding a few of them he knelt beside her and moved aside her thick blue/black hair to expose the velvety soft skin of her neck. Injecting the stim he couldn't help but notice the shape of her ears, so cute and delicately pointed. From that observation his brain finally made some sense of what his eyes were trying to tell him.

This woman was ravishing! He'd never seen anyone so beautiful, so human and yet so exotic at the same time with her strange colouring.

Checking her pulse he relaxed, it was strong and steady.

Next thing he had to do was clean up the gash on her forehead. Grunting as moving pulled on his arguing muscles that wanted him to just go to sleep he stood and went to investigate the bathroom. The washing receptacle was sonic and there was no running water in the sink. Grimacing at the situation he was glad to at least have the sonic shower. For now though he'd have to see what was in the emergency kit he could use.

Revan felt stuck. Trapped in her subconscious yet somehow conscious. Master Kreia's voice whispered to her mind, her own voice whispering the same words.

_There is passion, yet peace._

_Serenity, yet emotion._

_Chaos, yet order._

_I am the wielder of the flame..._

At that memories of fiery explosions blinded her mind, the screams of the dying, the crushing of her very being within the Force as hundreds of thousands of lives were snuffed out in an instant.

_the protector of the balance._

_I am the holder of the torch, lighting the way._

Her voice became stronger and Kreia's diminished.

_I am the keeper of the flame, soldier of balance._

_I am a guardian of balance._

The memories flashed to another explosion of light. The Jedi boarding party. Bastila fierce in her anger yet beneath it the pain of betrayal.

_'You cannot win Revan'_

Such deep emotion imbued into those words, anger, betrayal, pride, arrogance, heartache, her Zeltron telepathy picked up _all_ of it. Those crystal blue eyes that were cold as ice were boring into her expecting defiance.

'_Oh Shan if only you could see, if only your Battle Meditation could see beyond what the Masters bind you to.'_

Listening to her voice she could feel the sadness once again, the pain of _their_ betrayal, the ones who were supposed to protect the Republic. She had already lost something, no some_one_ so dear to her to the Council. There was this ache in her heart where a face was supposed to be, someone she loved and yet the screwing around in her brain had taken their identity. She could remember the one she loved had been deeply scarred and traumatized to such an extent the Force seemed to have been severed from them. She could remember being unable to help them... her... so she'd sent her back to the Council for healing. Only they hadn't healed... her, they'd _exiled_ her.

Bastila had hesitated.

'_Do not listen, she seeks to distract us. Surrender Revan!'_

One of the other Jedi asserted with coldness and hate seething beneath the surface.

Bastila's eyes narrowed as she bolstered herself in readiness for an attack.

'_I find it very interesting that though I was not the one to fire the first shot in this little dispute I am the one branded as evil, that suddenly I have turned on the very thing I gave everything to save.'_

_'Shut up Revan, stand down!'_ Bastila had snarled at her.

'_I can't do that. I sacrificed too many to watch the Republic fall to the lies of the Jedi Council. If they won't prepare us for what's coming then I WILL. I WILL protect the Republic even if I have to bring it to its knees first!'_ Revan had activated her lightsaber then and lashed out at one of the Jedi behind Bastila.

That was all she'd been able to do before Malak had opened fire. The pain of shrapnel ripping into her, the burning of flames from the explosion behind her was fresh in her memory and she whimpered.

Carth looked over in concern. She'd been sobbing and shifting in her sleep for the past two days with no sign of waking from whatever nightmares were plaguing her. There was nothing more he could do for her though. Askhaar Veiness was her name and she was Zeltron, hence her strange skin tone and ears. She had a very impressive grasp of languages and had spent a great deal of her recent years out in the Rim according to the files. The Jedi probably thought to use her as a specialist which was why she was attached to Bastila's group. Her skills would be needed to get them off this rock... if she could just wake up!

Revan's memory continued. Clutching her chest in agony she fought desperately to hold on. Why had Alek fired on her? It made no sense! Confusion echoed through her but she could feel herself slipping. Everything was getting darker when all of a sudden she felt someone pulling off her mask. She found herself looking up into the startled eyes of Bastila, something about her shocked the young padawan.

_'Always so beautiful...'_ she'd whispered and Bastila had looked torn.

Then Bastila had taken her face in her hands and bowed her head. The precious girl was attempting to meld with her... she could feel the warmth of Bastila's life force flowing into. It gave her just enough to reach up and so tenderly caress Bastila's cheek, her bloodied fingers leaving vivid marks on that lightly tanned skin. But it wasn't enough, everything still went black as she sunk into unconsciousness.

Revan awoke with a start, clutching at her chest with a hiss of pain but quickly realized that the pain she was feeling was residual from her memories and it was her _head_ that was screaming at her. She groaned and reached up with her hands to hold her head as if that could ease the Gamorrean waraxe going ballistic in her brain.

Carth was relieved to see her actually waking up. Getting her a stim for the pain he moved to her side quickly, "Here, for the pain." He pressed it against her neck and she hissed but bit her lip.

It was heaven as the stim kicked in quickly, tackling the Gamorrean for his waraxe and slamming it in said Gamorrean's head splitting it like a pumpkin then tossing waraxe out of her brain... for now at least. She sighed in relief, "Thank you."

Carth managed a small smile, "Welcome." He moved back to give her the space to start becoming more aware of where she was.

Slowly she sat up, not wanting to move too quickly so as to invite a new Gamorrean into her brain. Sliding her feet over the edge of the bed she faced the man who'd obviously been helping her but his name eluded her right now.

Carth just watched her for any sign of her head injury coming to bite her in the arse. Her eyes were still a little pinched and closed tight, her jaw was clenched in a grimace that was slowly relaxing. After a couple minutes of her just sitting there she opened her eyes and his heart just about skipped a beat. He'd never seen such glittering green eyes before! She was so... so... she was a _goddess_.

Revan sighed, sensing what Carth was feeling and the direction his thoughts were going, "I must apologize, I know you introduced yourself to me on the ship but I can't remember your name."

Her voice was soft and her accent a lyrical one he couldn't actually place, it added to her exotic beauty and Carth struggled to find his voice momentarily, "Understandable, you hit your head pretty damn hard. I'm Carth Onassi, pilot."

"Ashkaar Veiness, scout." She introduced herself with a gentle nod, no sharp movements.

"I've read your file, you sure know a lot of languages." He commented, eyes still drinking her in, watching for any sign of what she was feeling now that she was awake and drugs were keeping her pain at bay.

Ashkaar gave a small lopsided smirk, "I spend most of my time out in the Rim, it's necessary to be able to understand the people I have to interact with." Her eyes flicked to the door, "I take it we're safe enough here?"

"There've been a couple patrols but so far we've been lucky. It's been two days since we crashed and the Sith have a pretty damn tight noose around the necks of the people here." He stood and retrieved a bottle of water for her, she had to be thirsty and hungry after so long without either water or food. Holding it out to her he returned her grateful smile with a nod.

"Thanks. And here's... Taris right?" Her memories were a little foggy on the subject of their current location. Closing her eyes flashes of tall sky scrapers that went as far as the eye could see filled her vision. Her memories fell down to the lower levels, a slave auction. How she despised slavery! She could feel the anger of her memory as she saw a little cathar girl on the blocks looking starved and abused and she could feel her terror and despair.

"Hey you alright?" Carth's voice pulled her out of the memory.

"Just remembering the last time I was here but it's all a bit fuzzy still." She sighed, taking a couple mouthfuls of water and realizing she was so thirsty!

"We really should get you checked out by a doc, but I couldn't risk getting you to one especially while it was raining pods all over the city." He watched as something dawned on her and her face immediately filled with concern.

"Shan?" There was no disguising the genuine concern she felt.

"Her pod made it down but in the lower parts of Taris. The only way down there for this section of the city is guarded by the Sith and you can't get down without a pass. I don't know anything else, haven't been able to _contact_ anyone else, I've been looking after _you_." He began pacing in frustration at their hopeless looking situation, but at least Ashkaar was awake.

Revan winced at the insinuation and slowly rose to her feet, testing out her body that was stiff from being inactive for two days. A few things definitely popped and she sighed at the relief it brought. "Well I might not be up for any heavy lifting but let me clean up and we can go get something to eat. Is there a cantina nearby?"

"Yeah. Local's weren't very friendly or forthcoming with information though." Carth had tried but no one wanted to talk with him dressed as he was. He'd had to ditch his Republic uniform and the only clothes he could get a hold of were things that had been discarded by their previous owners... and he could understand why. The jacket was brown, stained and patched...poorly. He looked like a bum.

"Well, we'll see if they like pretty girls better than smelly boys." She winked, grinning cheekily, eyes flicking to the horrible jacket he was wearing.

"Smelly boy?" Carth's brow rose but he couldn't stop the grin.

"I for one wouldn't talk to you wearing that jacket if I didn't have to. You're better off getting rid of it." Revan advised a touch more seriously as she walked over to the bathroom.

"I was blending in! This apartment complex is for the lower citizens and alien squatters, wearing something decent would've had me sticking out!" He complained at her.

"Uh-huh." Revan grinned before slipping out of sight. She felt disgusting. Hungry, filthy, sweaty, her hair was in utter disarray and had blood clumps tangling it further. At least she didn't have to worry about Carth cleaning her and seeing what he shouldn't.

When Ashkaar emerged from the shower she looked cleaner and brighter, her hair was still a mess but not nearly so bad. "Okay before we go anywhere I need a hairbrush and a change of clothes."

"And just how do you propose to do that?" Carth crossed his arms expectantly, peeved at her vanity at a time like this.

"Oh you have no idea what it takes to be a scout do you flyboy." She chuckled and sauntered to the door. She could feel that their neighbour was a woman who was terrified for her life and in hiding. Perfect for some consoling, "I'm going to visit our lovely neighbours, see if there's someone who likes a good sob story."

"Yeah and what kind of sob story you going to give them? We need to sort out our story _now._" Carth insisted. He was the ranking officer and he'd been stuck here conscious for two days unable to _do_ anything to get them out of this situation, unlike Ashkaar.

Revan considered him a moment. He was getting angry, why? "Alright Carth, did you have something in mind already?" she asked smoothly with a captivating smile.

At that he flushed, "I, well, I no, no not exactly."

"Okay, best cover stories are those that have a smattering of truth in them. So you're a pilot and we're couriers who've been grounded with everything that's happening up there." She pointed up indicating the skirmish overhead.

"The Sith have blockaded the world, no one can leave until they've caught Bastila." Carth realized she didn't know, really had no idea what was going on planetside.

Revan's eyes flashed and her entire body stiffened, "Over my dead body are those back stabbing bastards getting their filthy hands on Shan," she snarled through her teeth furiously.

Carth's eyes widened and he held up his hands defensively, "Hey now easy there sister, that's the plan here." That sounded personal, _very_ personal. His eyes narrowed, he'd been trying to piece together what the hell had happened on the Endar Spire, how they'd been so utterly defeated so quickly. They had to have been betrayed, there was no other explanation for it, "Been betrayed before by the Sith?"

A deep sadness seemed to suck the light out of her bright green eyes, "Yes. Before the Jedi... found me. I... someone I trusted with my life turned on me, fell to the dark side and tried to kill me. I barely escaped with my life. Please I'd... I'd rather not talk about it. I owe Bastila my life, I'll tear up all of Taris before I let them hurt her."

Carth softened a little, he knew what that felt like. A man he'd considered his mentor had done the same thing to him... though Saul hadn't tried to kill him personally his actions had caused the destruction of Telos and killed his wife and son, "I'm real sorry to hear that, the betrayal bit."

Revan closed her eyes and took a deep breath to centre herself, "He'll get what's coming to him in time. For now we can't exactly pass off as brother and sister but this will work better if we're not pretending any kind of romantic attachment. Being able to flirt with contacts can loosen lips in many ways, including the sharing of valuable intel way."

Carth was once again taken in by her beauty, "I'll uh, leave that bit to you then." He rubbed his neck with a slight flush colouring his cheeks.

"A good courier also never talks about their packages or where they're going so if asked don't try to come up with an answer." She looked up and there was a little more light back in her eyes. "Now on a more personal matter, do you know much about Zeltron's?"

"Only that Revan was part Zeltron." Carth admitted with a shrug.

Revan sighed, "Right. Then you should know that my kind are telepathic."

Carth's eyes widened and he sputtered, "What!"

"I can't read your thoughts, before you get your panties in a twist. But I _can_ feel the emotions in others, I can feel their happiness or anger or if they're intent on a fight, things like that," Revan advised him calmly and with a nonchalant shrug, of course she could actually do far more than that, she _could_ read a lot more than emotions and right now what she was reading from Carth was not pretty.

"Okay, wow, that's kinda a lot to take in there. So you know... you know what I'm feeling right now," he asked somewhat warily, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"Yes, you're highly suspicious of me. I get that, last addition to the crew manifest, personal request of the Jedi, ship gets attacked not long after I'm posted... I know how it looks. I also know that there are no words I can say that I've not already said that will earn your trust. So all I ask is that you give me the opportunity to prove myself." Her eyes bore into his, she wasn't about to mind trick him into trusting her but she did need to start working down those walls if they were going to successfully work together to get off this rock.

Carth considered her closely, was she just playing him? What was her angle? Was she truly that dedicated to protecting Bastila?

Revan sighed and rubbed her forehead he was giving her a headache even _with_ the meds, "Fine. I'm going next door, there's a woman there scared for her life. If I can find out why and help her she might be able to give us some things to help us blend in better than jackets taken out of the trash. If it's not too much trouble could you go get something to eat, your anger and hate is making me ill."

"What? How's that even possible? If that was true just walking around people would make you sick." Carth shot at her quickly with even greater suspicion.

"It's not usually directed at me so I can shield my mind to most emotions. But some things I can't, like many people dying at once, it crushes my heart and overwhelms my mind. My kind thrive on positive emotions, passion, love, joy, negative emotions drain us. Now I'm going next door, if you'll excuse me Carth." With that she just turned and left, ignoring anything he might have said.

Carth took a deep breath, he had some research to do. It sounded a little far fetched to him, if that was true, if negative emotions drained Zeltron's then how could Revan have fallen to the Dark Side which is _fuelled _by all that bad crap?

Revan didn't even acknowledge Carth as he strode past her while she waited at the door. She'd tapped the chime and could feel the terror had escalated inside. It became quite clear to her that the woman had no intention of opening the door she was that scared. Slicing the door it slid open quickly and she was face to face with a trembling blaster.

"I'm warning you, one step closer and I'll shoot!" The clearly terrified young woman warned, trying to sound like she'd carry out the threat even though she was trembling and her eyes were wide with fear.

Revan held up her empty hands slowly, "I'm not here to hurt you. I could feel your fear and wanted to see if there's something I can do to help."

The brunette faltered a little, "What are you?" She demanded.

"I'm a Zeltron, my kind can feel the emotions within others. I usually try to shield my mind better but after... hitting my head, I'm finding it hard to block them out and yours are quite overwhelming. My name is Ashkaar, may I come in and talk with you? You have my word I mean you no harm, _pelakanous._" Revan introduced herself with an entirely captivating smile and her body relaxed in a non threatening manner.

Blue eyes glistened with unshed tears but there was still an air of mistrust to her as she lowered her blaster but didn't put it away.

Revan took that as an invitation to enter but only took a few steps into the small apartment. It was clean at least and had a table with a couple chairs, a bed and a small kitchen all in the one space. "May I sit down?" She gestured to one of the chairs, sitting down would make her seem less of a threat.

The woman nodded, not moving to join her just yet, "You can feel my emotions?" Her face the epitome of scepticism.

Walking casually over to the table and chairs she gracefully sat down, facing the woman and searching through her emotions for the most prevalent, "You're terrified for your life but feel justified in whatever you did that caused this." Revan answered the implied question.

The woman's eyes widened then narrowed, "How do I know you're not just here for the bounty?"

Revan let her surprise show, "There's a _bounty_ on your head?"

The woman said nothing.

"Forgive me but you don't seem the type to have earned a bounty, if the way you're holding your blaster is any indication." Revan shook her head slightly as she tried to make sense of this.

That immediately caused the woman to stiffen up again and her tone became heated, "Why are you here if not to collect the bounty?"

"To see if there's anything I can do to help." Revan offered sincerely, it wasn't just to soothe her own aching head from the powerful negative emotions pouring off this woman.

At that the woman scoffed, "No one offers help for nothing."

"Alright, as you can see I'm in desperate need of a hairbrush and change of clothes. They don't consider either of those necessary in emergency kits. Clearly personal hygiene isn't highly rated, I swear those things are designed by _males_." Revan sighed with a touch of resignation to add a little dramatic flair.

The woman's eyes narrowed once more as she clearly considered those words, "Are you a Republic officer?" The question was asked slowly, carefully.

"Please sit with me. If I'd wanted to hurt you I would've done so already." She flashed a positively disarming smile up at the woman who caved and reluctantly sat down as asked. "I'm not a Republic officer, I'm a courier, stuck here until the blockade's done with." She sighed, "But the damn Sith won't let me or my partner near our ship which has all our stuff on it. He only just managed to grab an emergency kit and they weren't... gentle when they chucked us out." To emphasize the point she gingerly touched the back of her head with a frown.

The woman softened a little at that but said nothing just yet.

"So we're a little stuck here and don't have access to our credits so things like hairbrushes tend to take second place to food." Revan pulled the vain pout on that one and was rewarded by the woman wordlessly getting up and disappearing into her bathroom to return with a brush for her.

"I'm Dia by the way." She introduced herself softly, taking pity on the woman who'd barged in on her.

"Pleasure to meet you Dia. You have _no_ idea how much I've missed talking with another woman. Carth is... very regimented, ex-soldier and _no_ fun to talk to." Revan beamed up at her, "Thank you so much."

Dia was surprised by the genuine gratitude that shone through Ashkaar's eyes and watched curiously as the Zeltron ran the brush through her long blue/black hair. She found herself admiring the colour, in fact Ashkaar's exotic beauty finally hit home and she wondered how she could have thought the gorgeous, friendly woman was a threat.

"So Dia, may I ask what has you locked up in here?" Revan asked her gently.

Dia sighed, "A huttspawn of a man Holden. He's one of Davik's men, Davik's the face of the Exchange here and has a hand in just about every black market thing on Taris. Even the Sith leave him alone. About a week ago I was in the lower city Cantina and Holden was drunk and being a fool." She ducked her face and turned away as her cheeks flushed at the memory, "He's used to getting his way with women and wouldn't take no for an answer. I ended up having to cut him with my blade, but the spiteful pig wouldn't let it go. I'd _shamed_ him in front of his friends so he went and put a bounty on me."

Revan winced at the anger, fear and shame that roiled through Dia and the bitter tone of her voice. Damn she _had_ to meditate and get her mental shields back in place.

Dia caught the wince out of the corner of her eye and returned her gaze to Ashkaar curiously, "You're really feeling what I feel?" she asked softly, she hadn't truly believed her before.

"Yes. I... I need to meditate to restore my shields but with the concussion... things seem to be a little amplified." Revan murmured, shifting in feigned discomfort at the revelation.

"You have a concussion? Just how hard did the Sith... actually never mind, they're not known for being gentle." Dia sighed and finally relaxed with the stranger.

"Huh, got that right. Carth's not exactly gentle either with the stims, seems to think just jabbing it in is fine." She grumbled, reaching up to hold the back of her head that even with the stim still ached a little at the reminder of how it had felt before the rough stim injection.

"Would you like some tea? It might help a little," Dia offered softly, a sense of guilt washing over her for how she'd first greeted the woman sitting across from her.

"I'd love a tea." Revan beamed in delight at the offer.

Things progressed a lot more smoothly after that point and Revan had Dia a whole lot more relaxed and so much more pleasant to be around as the calmer mind didn't aggravate her own. That was until Carth returned next door in a foul mood over something or other. Inwardly Revan sighed, this was not going to be an enjoyable experience to say the least.

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><p><em><strong>So here's where you review and cry for 'MORE' or tell me to stick with Mass EffectDragon Age...**_

_**[Apologies for the re-post, had another read through it and found a stack of grammatical errors... *cringing*]  
><strong>_


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